Page 48 of Blood Fist

Corric was screaming, using his sling to fling rocks at the great beast. They plinked off her body without so much as a twitch. Ridan let another few arrows fly, but he knew they’d be useless.

She was huge. At least two men long, and maybe two wide. Her long limbs were pulled close to her body to streamline her swimming tiny talons tucked close. Thick tail undulated behind her, as long as she was, propelling her through the water as easy as a hot knife through butter. Were it not for her angry outburst, her dark mottled green, black color would have her perfectly camouflaged in the water. Her bottom teeth curved up from her mouth, sliding into grooves beside her smaller top fangs. She used them to grab her prey, locking them in so she could drag them to the bottom where they would drown. Then the rows of flat molars at the back of her mouth would pulverize bones, muscle, and anything else so she could swallow them whole.

Her head was protected with not just an iron like hide but jutting bones that curled up to protect her eyes and cheeks. The two beady eyes set back behind a thickenedbrow ridge were the only vulnerable parts of her skull.

Brune wasn’t running, not that it would do much good. Maybe he could outrun her on land, but in the water? Impossible. He crouched, fisting the blade in one hand with the other out for balance, watching the Snap Jaw barrel toward him.

Ridan’s heart thundered in his chest. There was so much Brune didn’t know! Even seasoned warriors would hesitate to take on a Snap Jaw, and they knew how they hunted and fed. The best way to kill them was to get them to the bank and tire them out. And only when they were lethargic during their off season. But the idiot alpha had never even seen one before!

I shouldn’t have let him go…

Jonen was shouting instructions at Brune, but it all sounded muted to Ridan. He couldn’t hear anything but the blood rushing in his ears and his vision tunneled on Brune’s face.

The Snap Jaw closed in quickly, rushing at the alpha. Brune didn’t take a step back, or turn. He faced her head on. His impressive biceps clenched once, twice, and then he was hit. Ridan thought he screamed, but he wasn’t sure. He lost sight of Brune in the frothing water for long, horrifying moments before a flash caught his eye.

Teeth grit, Brune had taken the bite on his right bicep. He was snarling down at the beast as she pushed him toward the bank; the knife buried in the side of her head. It wasn’t deep enough to kill, but Ridan could see it had penetrated a weaker spot in her hide, just under her protruding bone. With her jaws wrapped around his arm, she shook him back and forth, dragging him into shallow water so she could get leverage against the bank.

Curled around her toothy maw, he wasn’t fighting heror trying to wrench his arm away, simply letting her push him through the water as his free hand scratched and clawed at her eyes, desperately trying to find a weak spot.

Jumping off the root, Ridan nocked another arrow as he ran along the bank. He needed a better angle. If he could just get her eye. Or distract her. Anything. But while he was a passable shot, he wasn’t nearly skilled enough to hit such a small, moving target.

Brune roared in pain as his back slammed into the low bank. Unable to ride along with her anymore, he lost whatever advantage he had, hand slipping along her skin as he tried desperately to hold her back. Her pointed teeth trapped his arm fast. The only way to pull loose was to lose his limb.

Drawing his bow, Ridan took aim. His arrow hit true, landing somewhere close to his first. The feathered shafts trembled in her back as she attacked, shaking with the force but not slowing her down.

Corric had taken up on the root Ridan vacated, slinging rocks at the Snap Jaw. One of his shots got lucky, striking her in the sensitive eye region. Hissing, she released Brune, spinning around to see the threat. The force of her growl shook the surrounding water, rattling up his bones. Jonen shouted for Brune to run, but he didn’t have time, just reaching under the water with his good arm and pulling out a hammer Ridan hadn’t noticed before.

As the big creature swung back around, Brune lifted the hammer and swung. It cracked into her mouth, sending a shower of broken teeth along the soft bank beside him. The Snap Jaw grunted under the blow, slow in her return. Pushing herself off her back legs, she snapped at Brune’s face close enough Ridan was afraid he’d lost his nose.

Twisting, Brune tossed the hammer into his bloody arm. Gripping the wooden handle, he bared his fangs just as he swung again, the head of the hammer slamming into the hilt of Ridan’s hunting knife, driving it into the Snap Jaw’s skull.

The beast twitched twice before it stilled, entire body stiffening as it collapsed onto the bank.

Everything seemed to go still. Silence permeating the small glade. Ridan’s chest was heaving, his bow drawn and pointed at the still Snap Jaw. Slowly, he lowered it, eyes on the thing to see if it so much as twitched. But even as he watched, it rolled onto its side and exposed its unguarded belly.

Tension uncoiled from his belly, washing off him in waves. He was soaked through with sweat, his hair sticking to his neck and face. Shoving it out of his eyes, he sprinted forward, dropping to his knees beside Brune on the bank.

The big alpha was sprawled on his back, staring up blankly. His chest was rising and falling, but his face was pale. His right side was coated in blood, the hammer still firmly in his grasp. Ridan pried his sticky fingers off the handle, dropping it so he could examine the wound.

All things considered—it could have been worse. That Brune still had his arm was a miracle. He was bleeding from a bite around his upper bicep. The wounds were deep, but the tearing was minimal.

Brune lifted his good hand, knocking it into Ridan’s thigh. “I didn’t lose it,” he said hoarsely, gesturing to the knife sticking out of the Snap Jaws skull.

Ridan shook his head. “You idiot,” he mumbled, just as Corric knelt beside him, ripping his shirt to bandage the wounds. Ridan helped, holding Brune’s arm as gently as he could. He pressed each finger to makesure Brune could feel them. Miraculously, he could move them all.

Jonen waded into the water to examine the Snap Jaw, pulling Ridan’s arrows free. He tried to pry the knife loose, but it was embedded into its skull. When Brune’s arm was wrapped and the bleeding was under control, Corric joined Jonen to try to pull the thing out of the water.

“Never hunted anything before,” Ridan grumbled, forcing Brune to sit so he could drink some water. “Had to start big, didn’t you?”

Brune huffed tiredly, blinking swamp water from his eyes. He drank nearly the entire skin; he looked over at Ridan from beneath sodden tangles. “Had to impress you, didn’t I?”

Ridan flushed, swallowing quickly to keep himself from saying something stupid. Like how impressed hereallywas. How his omega was scratching at the back of his skull, purring, begging to scent the powerful alpha. Lavish him in praise and love.

“We’ll have to get help to get this back to the clan,” Jonen said, jerking his thumb over at the Snap Jaw carcass. It was massive, and bringing it home would be a pain, but there was no way they were going to leave it behind. The meat alone would keep Brune fed for a month, and the hide was nearly priceless.

Corric helped Brune to his feet, steadying him as he walked back toward the horses. Ridan stood to join them, dusting the mud off his pants when a flash of white caught his attention.

The broken Snap Jaw teeth from Brune’s first hammer blow were scattered below him. Some were snapped at the root, but a couple were in perfect condition. Stooping, Ridan grabbed them and stuffed them into his pocket.